Awards of the Purina Pet Care Innovation Center

25 Mar 2019

Awards of the Purina Pet Care Innovation CenterGlobalPETS | Awards of the Purina Pet Care Innovation Center

The Pet Care Innovation Prize is a collaborative effort of Purina’s 9 Square Ventures division with investing leaders, Active Capital, to support and connect with early stage pet care startups addressing pet and pet owner needs in the areas of pet health and wellness, services, technology, nutrition and emerging innovations.

The five first round winners each received $10,000 in cash from Purina with no strings attached along with a weeklong experience at a pet care business accelerator boot camp in Purina’s hometown.

GuardianVets is the winner of the 2019 award, see picture.

While GuardianVets may have earned the title of grand prize winner, the rest of the Pet Care Innovation Prize Class of 2019 won as well, receiving cash and mentorship from Purina leading into the final pitch event. Each startup offers a unique way for pet owners to interact with, care for, feed, play with and understand their furry friends:

  • Chicago-based Shameless Pets uses upcycling to turn ingredients that may have otherwise been lost or wasted into premium pet treats that support your pet’s health.
  • Boulder-based Bond Pets is working with cellular agriculture technologies to reinvent pet nutrition, making nutritionally-superior dog and cat foods sourced from real animal protein – without harming any animals in the process.
  • Los Angeles-based Basepaws is a pet genetics company that has developed the first consumer genetics test for cats, which includes detailed information about breed, traits, health, and genetic markers for potential hereditary disease.
  • New York-based PlayDate rounds out the Pet Care Innovation Prize 2019 class and is building a smart pet monitoring system, beginning with toys, to keep dogs and cats happy and healthy throughout their lives.